My Whole Heart
by Gomboc123
Summary: Edward and Winry are both determined to get the proposal right a second time. Written for Edwin Week 2016, Day 3: 85%
Happy Edwin Week! I love these two dorks more than life itself.

This was inspired by a post by OTP Prompts on tumblr.

Writing this was a perfect way to procrastinate studying for my AP Euro exam, so I hope everyone enjoys! Reviews are always welcome and appreciated!

* * *

Diamond rings may be the most obvious choice for proposing grooms-to-be, but Edward Elric knew that his future wife would need a little something different. A diamond could come loose and get caught in machinery, and the shape of the ring might impede Winry from getting her hands deep inside someone's leg to fix it. Besides, Winry loved jewelry, but she wasn't completely flashy like Ed. Her tastes were simple, yet tasteful. So chunky diamond rings were out of the question.

While in Creta, Edward had spied a simple gold band with engravings of roses on it. He briefly considered that ring, for it met the criteria he had stated outright, but something just didn't add up. Winry's earrings were all silver. A gold ring could clash with those, and Winry would have to leave a piece of jewelry off every morning. So gold rings were also out of the question.

During his visit to Aerugo, Ed looked at simple silver bands. They were the right color, not as flashy and awkward as diamonds, and when Ed pictured Winry back at home, he could _see_ her wearing one of those designs. So that's almost what Ed got her. There was only one problem; something about all the silver engagement rings in all the shops Ed visited seemed too plain, too impersonal. This ring was meant to be a declaration of Ed's love, and Winry deserved something more special than something he found in some old shop. Edward needed to get her something that she could proudly put on her finger each morning and smile at because she knew she had a fiancé who loved her with all his heart. He needed to get her something that accurately summed up his feelings about the amazing woman who was waiting for him back in Resembool. And he wasn't going to necessarily find that in a regular jewelry shop.

The only option left for Ed was making Winry a custom ring. At first, Ed was fine with the idea, but all too soon, he remembered that he had given up his alchemy to save Alphonse, leaving him unable to transmute one. How would he make a ring? Winry was the one talented in manual metalwork, and he couldn't ask her to make her own engagement ring.

That's when Ed remembered that he knew another alchemist as skilled in transmuting metal as he. And Ed would only have to endure a couple hours of gushy embarrassment before Alphonse would transmute him a ring. Giving Al the plans to make an engagement ring would result in something that suited Winry, and was made with love.

So for the next couple of weeks, between exploring the west and writing letters to Al and Winry, Edward worked on designs for Winry's ring. He was absolutely determined to make it perfect; his awkward speech about equivalent exchange to her before he left wasn't a proper proposal, and Winry deserved only the best in the world. This woman was Ed's light, the person who literally helped him stand on his feet in his darkest and most hopeless moments, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. How could he leave her with an awkward proposal and an imperfect engagement ring? When he returned to Resembool that summer, Ed was going to get it right, and make sure they were both pleased with the way the proposal went. No more rambling about equivalent exchange until she debunked the concept. This time, Ed would propose perfectly.

The companions Ed was currently travelling with sometimes made fun of Ed for staying up late slaving over not only the design for the ring, but the alchemic formulas that would make its construction possible. Those men didn't understand that Ed didn't feel as if he were slaving. He was happy to put effort into something for Winry like she had done for him time and time again with his automail. He enjoyed the critical thinking the task required, and felt satisfied once he was done with the design.

Two months before his scheduled trip back to Resembool to meet up with Alphonse and his bride to be, Edward climbed deep into a silver mine to choose the purest cut to bring back. If he was determined to make Winry the best ring possible, he had to ensure the finest quality metal. Ed admitted to himself that maybe crawling around in mineshafts wasn't _completely_ necessary, but it gave him a nice adventure story to tell everyone back home. It was damp, and dusty, and he couldn't understand the man yelling at him in Aerugian, but Ed managed to break off a section of the precious metal with a pickaxe and bring it to safety out of the crouched mineshaft.

One month before his expected arrival back home, Ed had begun his journey back to Amestris. Crossing almost the entire country of Creta would be long and difficult, but the thought of seeing Winry and Alphonse's smiling faces again kept him going full speed ahead.

Ed would make it back, and he would see his brother again, and propose to the love of his life, and everything would be perfect. _Especially_ the proposal.

* * *

Winry Rockbell stood hunched over her work table, carefully holding a small silver ring between her fingertips. This week, Edward would be returning after two years abroad, and Winry was going to propose to him.

Technically, Edward had already asked her, and she had already said yes, but neither of them had gotten the other a ring, and the entire ordeal had been a spur-of-the-moment type event. Winry liked Ed's unconventional methods, and his endearing alchemy metaphors, but she also wanted them to both have something more substantial than the 85% promise. She'd made his proposal incredibly awkward by saying that, and this time, she wanted Ed to have a proposal where he couldn't feel like he messed up. Sure, the woman proposing was unorthodox, but when had Edward and her ever been completely normal?

Winry made his ring out of steel, by cutting and polishing parts of an old automail arm she made him forever ago. The arm itself was dented up from use and had become dull from lack of polish, but the new piece of jewelry Winry crafted out of it shone brighter than ever before. The gleaming metal band was incredibly simple, but that wasn't a bad thing. Despite Ed's flamboyant choices in fashion, he hadn't ever really worn much jewelry, so Winry chose a classy, timeless design for him that she knew he could wear every day and smile at. But the best part about his ring was that he'd know she made it for him, crafted specifically with love and care.

Five days before Edward's return, Winry finished the engraving on the inside of the metal. The process had been long and tedious, and she'd had to push back other automail projects to get it done, but the final result was worth it. Winry had taken forever to decide what she wanted to write, but she finally found something she knew was perfect. _My whole heart does belong to you, alchemy freak._

At first glance, the phrase would seem insensitive, but the words on the ring had so much more meaning than anyone could imagine.

Since Edward and Winry were children, the "alchemy freak" nickname had been Winry's preferred nickname for Edward. She'd call him an alchemy freak, he'd call her a gearhead, and they'd both laugh, forgetting everything else that was going on around them. After Ed left to become a state alchemist, "alchemy freak" would remind both Edward and Winry of those good times when they were children, before the fighting and the death and the madness. Their nicknames reminded them of home, when Winry was in Rush Valley, and Edward was who-knows-where. And now that they were older, "alchemy freak" was a symbol of understanding. Winry loved Edward, no matter how obsessed with alchemy he may have been, and he loved her back, even though she was a gearhead. It wasn't an insult anymore; it was a small declaration of love.

And Winry was about to burst with anticipation for her alchemy freak to return home. She couldn't wait for both of the Elric brothers to return home, in fact.

Alphonse arrived two days before Edward. He and his girlfriend, May Chang, had crossed the desert from Xing in record time, and were both staying in Resembool with Winry. Seeing Alphonse again had been amazing. The younger Elric had grown tremendously in the two years he'd been away from home, and seeing her childhood friend again made Winry smile. She couldn't help but wonder how Ed would look when he got back.

Even at age eighteen when he left, Ed had begun looking like and adult. He was taller than Winry, and the small stubble on his chin made him look so much more mature than he had only two years prior to that moment. Now, at age twenty, Winry was eager to see how her Edward had changed and grown up. She couldn't wait to be in his warm arms once more.

* * *

The steam engine pulled into Resembool's small station, and Edward was woken up by the sound of the conductor yelling the name of the town. He lethargically stood up and grabbed his suitcase from the compartment above his head, and gave the railway employees a quick nod before exiting the locomotive.

Outside, the sky was bright blue, without a cloud in sight, sunlight illuminating the verdant fields and countryside. _Damn,_ thought Ed, _It's good to be back home_. But beautiful as the landscape was, Edward's eyes caught on to a far more beautiful sight on the other end of the platform running toward him.

"Al! Winry! May!" Ed almost dropped his luggage to run toward the three over-excited young adults coming at him, but they beat him too it and drew him in a tight hug.

"Brother! I've missed you so much!"

"Edward, it's good to see you again!"

"Welcome home, alchemy freak."

The amount of sheer joy Edward felt in that moment was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. Seeing Winry and Al's smiling faces again in person after two years made him want to leap up in excitement. Ed almost did, had he not been squished in a hug by the other three on the platform.

"It's good to be back. I missed you all," Ed squeezed back, putting his left arm around Al's back, and his right around Winry's waist. He could stay like this for hours.

But all too soon, the hug pulled away, and Al hoisted Ed's suitcase up in his arms to carry it back to the house. May grabbed Al's other hand and began talking about the Xingese meal she was making Ed for supper that night. Al couldn't wait to exchange stories that night, and smiled at his brother with excited eyes.

Ed looked at Winry, and saw that she had picked his small backpack up off the ground. She smiled at him again, and the four young adults walked back to Winry and Pinako's home.

Looking back at his blonde mechanic, Ed's hand stroked the chunk of silver and folded-up piece of paper in his pocket. After he got home, he'd need to ask Al to perform the transmutation. Tonight, after dinner, he'd pull Winry aside and ask her properly to marry him.

After having made it back to the Rockbells' house and bantered with Pinako, Ed and Al went upstairs to their room, and Ed swiftly shut and locked the door behind them while May and Winry made some other preparations downstairs.

"What's this for?" Al asked, curious as to why Ed was fumbling around with something in his pocket.

"Al, uh," Ed rubbed the back of his head, "Can I ask you a favor?" He'd been so much smoother in his head.

"Sure, brother. What is it," Al shifted slightly so he could see Ed's pocket better.

"Well…" Ed could feel his cheeks begin to heat up, so he just spit it all out, "I need you to transmute an engagement ring for Winry!"

Al's eyes grew wide, and a gleeful, childish grin spread across his face. Ed breathed in deeply and Al made a small squeal, "Awwwwwwww, brotherrrrrr! Of course I'll do it!" Ed thought his younger brother would begin bouncing off the walls in excitement. Al hadn't been this excited since he got to pet a fluffy cat for the first time since regaining his real body.

"I have the silver, and the transmutation circle drawn, you just need to activate it quickly before the girls come back up here looking for us," Ed tried to bring Al back to reality, and suddenly the younger Elric snatched the paper out of Ed's hand.

"Oh, this is perfect for Winry! Brother, who knew you were such a romantic?" Al wiggled his eyebrows at his brother and elbowed him in the chest.

"Shut up and do the transmutation," Ed shoved back.

Al nodded and took a moment to study Ed's sketches and the circle, and set the paper down onto the nightstand, "It's been forever since I used a circle for alchemy. I think this is the most complex thing you've come up with since your theory on human transmutation," Al mused, and slapped his hands down. It was true- this transmutation circle and ring design was the longest and hardest one he had made since his human transmutation circle almost ten years ago. But this time, instead of bringing heartbreak and tragedy, Ed's alchemy would bring him and Winry happiness and the peace they deserved.

Blue light flashed from the chunk of metal on the stand, and Ed had to blink his eyes away. A few seconds later, when the light show had died down, he looked back to see Al holding a small silver ring between his fingers.

Stepping forward, Ed took the band into his own two slightly trembling hands and examined it, seeing the metal gleam so bright that it reflected the gold in his eyes. The ring was thin, but not too thin, and the silver didn't bend when Ed tried to compress it. The design was sleek, and wouldn't get caught in any automail projects, but despite the simplicity, it was still elegant and interesting. The inside of the ring was the most important part; because inside, Ed had engraved the words, _I'll give you my whole heart, Gearhead._

The childhood nickname from Ed to Winry was so much more than just a jab at Winry's obsession with automail. Ed had been calling her a Gearhead ever since they were children, and the nickname, like her, reminded him of home. It reminded Ed that wherever Winry was, it was a safe, loving place, and he could stop running from the mistakes of his past and just enjoy himself. Never before had Ed felt so peaceful, than when he was in Winry's arms. And his gearhead, his perfect, amazing gearhead, made that possible.

Looking at the ring made Ed's breath hitch at the finality of the situation, "It's perfect, Al," he almost whispered, "Thank you."

Sensing the change in mood, Al gave a grin, and replied almost equally as softly, "Winry sure is one lucky girl."

"Yeah, Al," Ed pocketed the ring, "But not as lucky as I am to have her."

* * *

Dinner with the Elric boys brought back a barrage of memories for both Edward and Winry, and the whole ordeal made their family smile. Al and May had prepared some traditional Xingese food for them to eat, to show Ed and Winry what the culture was like there. The next day, Ed was in charge of preparing a Cretan or Aerugian dish to help show what he learned on his travels.

The sweet smell of foreign spices filling the house, combined with the laughing and smiling boys made the hillside more lively than it had been in years. Only having had automail customers and the occasional guest, Pinako felt younger than ever.

Winry savored all the great food Al and May had made, and she listened, rapt, to the stories he told. Ed occasionally butted in with a tale of his own, but seemed calm, and just laughed along, sipping his beer without a care in the world. The man looked so peaceful; the light in his eyes almost overpowering any shadows in the room. Tonight, she would ask him.

After dinner, May insisted that she and Al would be the ones to clean up, having caused the mess in the kitchen with their cooking. Winry felt a little guilty, but let them clean, and took the opportunity to slip outside with Edward. The ring she made him sat lightly in her pocket and she rubbed her finger over it for luck.

"Man, I missed the stars here," Ed breathed, looking up at the darkening sky, "The cities I visited just don't have the same view."

"Yeah, they're beautiful," Winry looked back at his serene face.

"Ju- just like- um… It's because there's less light pollution on the countryside," Ed stuttered, and looked back at Winry. His face may look older, but this was the same old Ed that had left. Her Ed.

"That's true. Even the sky in Rush Valley looks different," Winry's fingers squeezed the ring for good luck. The pair stayed quiet for a few moments, just looking up at the stars, before Ed turned to Winry.

"Winry, I need to ask you something," Ed's face turned more serious, and she raised her eyebrows.

"Before you do that, Ed, I want to say something," Winry took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "When you were leaving, and you… asked me to spend the rest of your life with you, I ruined your entire proposal with my rambling about percentages," Ed's face began growing red again.

"But the truth is Ed, I love you. I've loved you for such an incredibly long time, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, start a family with you. I want the both of us to be happy together. I want you to know that I _would_ give you my whole heart. I would give it willingly, and I want you to know that I've spent too long skirting around my true feelings for you," Winry clutched the ring, and was about to continue before Ed interrupted.

"Wait, Winry, you didn't ruin anything!" His blush was growing deeper, and his face was almost identical to the one he made when he left, "Just let me talk to you for a minute," Winry had no qualms with letting Edward say a few words, so she nodded and smiled.

"I think I first realized I was in love with you was when we were both fifteen. I tried to deny it at first, and I didn't think you felt the same way. But I'm done with that, Winry. I want you to know that you are the light of my life .You're the person who gave me a second leg to stand on, and it feels like home when I'm in your arms."

"I guess, what I want to say, is that I've always known you're intelligent, and beautiful, and awesome, and you've always had my heart. And I want to keep it that way. I want to keep being the Alchemy Freak to your Gearhead, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Almost feeling tears, Winry jumped into a hug, pulling him tight against her and burying her face in his neck. Ed's blonde fringe tickled her nose, but she didn't care. His clothes may have smelled like the locomotive he came here in, and he may not have shaved in the past couple of days, but it was still her Edward. His warm arms still felt familiar, and the way his heart beat and breath hitched just made her grin even wider. He was still the same old Ed he'd always been. Her same old Ed.

Winry plunged one hand into her pocket for the ring, and feeling the absence of one hand caused Ed to bring one of his own arms down. She brought the shining piece of jewelry up into the open, and finally pulled away from Edward enough to show him her handiwork.

"Edward…"

"Winry…"

"… _Will you marry me?_ "

Winry had expected the shocked expression on her love's face, but what she hadn't expected was him to be speaking in tandem with her and holding a shining silver ring in his own right hand as well.

Both of them fumbled and almost dropped the engagement rings in into the lush grass below their feet. Ed stood in shocked silence for a few seconds trying not to let his silver piece fall. But then exactly that happened when Ed pulled Winry's face in toward his and kissed her for the first time.

Rings now glinting out of the grass, Winry tangled her hand in his long hair, kissing him back, not able to contain the tears of joy anymore. He tasted like Xingese food and the beer he'd been drinking, but it didn't matter. She fit perfectly against him as he held her tighter than ever before. The kiss was filled with passion, and it was exhilarating to finally be able to do it after so many years. But Neither Edward nor Winry felt as though it were rushed, or anything other than loving.

Even though Winry had spent hours making that ring on the ground, it didn't matter. What really mattered was that she and Ed were both at home, happy, and they both understood each other completely. All of the stressing and metalwork of the past few weeks melted away in that moment, giving way to the bliss of holding each other tightly. Edward was more amazing than any ring she could make, or proposal she could come up with.

They stayed tightly together like that for an all-too-short amount of time before the two needed to pull away to take a breath.

"Yes, I'll marry you. A thousand times yes," Ed breathed, and kissed her again, "God, you're the most amazing woman I've ever met."

"I love you, Edward. I love you and I'll always love you," Winry breathed back, and savored another kiss. She'd never done this with anyone and felt so _right_ about it.

The next time they pulled away from the kiss was when they heard a squealing noise from the porch, where Alphonse came out from behind the doorframe with May and Pinako. Both Ed and Winry's faces flushed, and Al laughed again, "You two are perfect for each other."

"Shut up, Al," they replied together, eliciting another squeal and a snap of the camera. Ed gave his brother a look, but Winry pulled him into another quick kiss. Let Alphonse take his pictures, it would give them a way to remember the moment.

"Ed," Winry said, eyes growing wide, "I ruined your proposal again," she reached down and searched through the grass for both rings.

"No, you didn't ruin anything. Not now and not then. It would have been boring without your reactions," Ed pulled his piece of silver up, and held it in front of Winry, "That's one of the reasons I love you."

Winry took the gleaming engagement ring out of his hand and exchanged it with the one she made for him. _I'll give you my whole heart, Gearhead._ Winry almost gasped, and slipped it on her finger. It was perfect. He was perfect.

Ed slipped his on too, and was obviously holding back tears. He entwined his hand in hers, gleaming rings clinking together. His rough skin matched Winry's, and like every other moment, the two fit perfectly together.

Sure, the second proposal had gone just about as well as the first one in terms of planning and execution, but Winry realized it didn't matter. Even though there were fumbles mishaps; that was life. And Ed was right, anything less than this would be boring and unfitting of the pair. She and Ed had never been, and would never be some average couple. He was her Alchemy Freak and she was his Gearhead, and Winry hoped that would never change.


End file.
